October's Moon
by littlemaru
Summary: A trip to the forest, a pitiful excuse to be alone with her. In the days before All Hallows' Eve.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

 _Ever so silently_

 _Wrapped in fog_

 _October's moon._

* * *

He checked his watch, momentarily and impatiently, its dials glowing in the darkness. The time had not changed. A moment had barely passed. He was impatient, more so than usual. The radio did little to comfort him and in realising so he switched it off and simply sat there in the blackness of the car. It would've done him good to bring a book to read, a cup of joe and all that. But in his impatience he had forgotten all those things and rushed out into the dusk.

And yet dusk had come and gone. He was alone with his thoughts and the rain that pitter-pattered on the glass and metal all around him. He'd promised her an interesting case, as he always did. She always reluctantly went with it. Probably at best to supervise his escapades into the unknown and make sure he didn't do anything dangerous and _downright stupid_. Nonetheless it was raining which quite literally put a dampener on things. The traffic on the way up to North Carolina would be terrible.

He wondered if she would bother to come at all, until of course, her car pulled up alongside his. She was likely questioning his choice of location – a forest just off the main road with not a damn streetlight in sight – but more likely she would be rolling her eyes and would've guessed he'd lead her to a place like this. He waited until she switched off the engine, as reluctantly as he had expected given the weather, and made her way to the car door. She let herself in quickly, sighing inwardly as she had become drenched in the few steps between cars.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come," Mulder spoke.

He finally caught her stare, briefly, before she turned away. Her hair was dripping.

"I hear the roads were pretty bad." He continued, indicating to the now silent radio.

"Well, I'm here now."

He nodded, ignoring her obvious lack of enthusiasm on her arrival.

She swept her hair back off her face and attempted to get comfortable, her clothes clinging from the wet. She hoped this wouldn't take long.

"So what's the plan?" Scully requested, hopeful to get this over and done with.

"Take a look." He replied, indicating over his shoulder to the backseat.

Her heart immediately sank.

Raincoats. Torches.

"You have got to be kidding…"

"It won't take long," he interrupted her. "If we're quick."

 _There was never a quick with Mulder, not when it came to the x files._ Her plan of getting to the motel and having a hot bath was quickly being stolen from her.

"No." she replied irately. "Not tonight."

"Why not?"

She paused out of annoyance.

"Have you lost your mind?" she asked, ignoring the oblivious look on his face. "Christ don't answer that…"

Scully turned away from him and the outdoor gear, now face to face with the rain pouring over the windscreen.

"Don't you even want to read the case?"

She sighed, hoping he would go easy on her. She'd driven the five hour journey alone straight from Washington D.C. through the evening rush hour, Mulder taking the journey earlier in the day. The motel he had booked was enticingly nearby and only worsened her overwhelming need to sleep.

"Mulder…"

"If you don't want to come with me, it's not too late to drive back." He interrupted her again. "I'll go by myself."

Again she sighed, shaking her head.

"No you won't."

"No?"

" _No_."

"Then are you coming or not?"

She swallowed her hopes of a decent night's sleep.

" _Just tell me about the damn case_."

Mulder smiled inwardly.

"Please…" he muttered quietly, reaching for the case file.

He felt her glare burning holes through him, as expected.

"The Devil's Tramping Ground."

" _The Devil's Tramping Ground?_?"

"You know it?" Mulder asked, playfully.

"Is this really why we're here?"

"Aren't you intrigued?" he questioned her, amused by her growing annoyance.

Scully sighed for what seemed the hundredth time, losing her patience.

"Mulder I'm tired," she pleaded, her voice weakening. " _Really, really tired_. I've driven a long way. By myself. In traffic. "

"But you didn't even hear about the case."

"I am familiar with the case."

"And it doesn't interest you?"

"Didn't you hear me, Mulder?"

"I did, you just surprised me."

She hesitated at his sheer resistance and blatant attempt to tease her.

"Can this not wait til morning?" she continued. "Can't we just go back to the motel room?"

He paused momentarily at the offer, or rather, _the ploy_. He reached out to her, placing a hand on her arm comfortingly.

"No." Mulder replied bluntly. "Now get your damn coat on."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

He locked the car – not that it was likely anyone would be around to break into it anyway – but more as a gesture to his reluctant partner that they had business to do. Scully said very little, on purpose.

"Now like I said, this won't take long." He reminded her, handing a torch over.

She replied with a forced smile from behind the hood of her coat. It was dark enough she was sure he hadn't noticed. Mulder of course, had noticed.

"You owe me for this one, Mulder."

He smiled back at her.

"Now, now." He replied, shining his torch over her. "You look good in a raincoat."

She said nothing, annoyed by the smug look on his face and the rain that soaked her. Simply standing there had already chilled her to the bone and her feet had begun to sink a little into the mud.

"So what's the plan?"

"I'll let you know when we get there." Mulder replied.

"Ok…" she spoke hesitantly. "So how far is it?"

She heard him sigh with mock annoyance.

"Don't you ever enjoy spontaneity?" he asked her, as she stood there miserably in the cold and wet.

It amused him to see her like this. He felt a little cruel, knowing how much she hated late nights and crap weather, but this hadn't been the plan. The weatherman at least hadn't forecast this much rain.

"Mulder…"

"Come on Scully." He insisted, pulling her gently by the arm. "Let's get this over with."

She followed him, unwillingly and shivering in the rain, through the clearing and into the depths of the trees. The rain continued to pour even under the cover of the forest, soaking through the leafy earth on the ground. It was lucky she'd worn decent boots or else she was sure her feet would've completely sunk into the mud. _Mulder would've just loved that_ , she thought to herself, _and if anything it was likely he'd wind her up for ages about it_ …

It was darker in the forest than out in the clearing at least. The moon struggled to find its way through the thickness of the tree growth, leaving them in total darkness with only their torches to guide them. If there was anything Scully hated about torches it was that they had a way of casting unnerving shadows behind everything they shone it. _She wasn't frightened_ , she told herself, but the gun on her holster definitely brought some sort of comfort whenever Mulder dragged her out on nights like this.

"Is there anything I should be expecting? Anything to look out for?" Scully asked, following after her partner as he walked several steps ahead. "Or are you planning on keeping me in the dark for the entire case?"

"I thought you weren't all that interested?"

"Damn it Mulder you bring me out here late at night _in the rain_ ," she retorted. "Is there any particular reason this investigation has to take place now? Just before Halloween? Or have I answered my own question there?"

She struggled to keep up with him as they wandered through the mud, her feet continually slipping beneath her. _He was either pissed off or doing this on purpose for sure,_ she thought. If he kept this pace up she was certain she'd loose her step at some point. The last thing she wanted was to go back to the motel in mud soaked clothing.

"What do you know about the case then, Scully?"

"It's a local story, _a myth_." she replied, exhaling as she reminded herself. "A camp spot where kids go to get drunk and scare each other."

"The Devils Tramping Ground," Mulder added. "Subject of persistent local legend; a clearing in the forest where the Devil "tramps" and haunts a barren circle of ground in which nothing is supposed to grow."

" _Local legend_."

"Yup," he continued, ignoring the tone of averseness in her voice. "Nothing has grown within the 40 foot ring for a hundred years. Legend says that this is the very place the devil himself can rise from the depths of fiery hell, and come to earth."

"Ok, Mulder," Scully said. "And what is the x file exactly?"

"Sacrificial witchcraft."

Scully resisted the urge to laugh.

"Sacrifice?"

"Yes."

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"Human." he spoke, quieter this time. "Some kids found bones up here, burned. Told the local cops who sent them over to the lab for analysis."

"What did they find?"

"They're recent. Also confirmed that the fragments belong to several unidentified men and women… There is a list of missing peoples in the local police department, they'll all have to be dna analysed but that will obviously take some time."

Scully nodded, attempting to ignore a sudden urge of unease.

"So you're assuming this is to do with the local story?"

"There's a connection. They found the bones within the ring itself. Whether it's to do with witchcraft or just another plain old serial killer….well." He explained. "I need to get a look at it for myself."

She felt for the gun on her holster, reminding herself it was still there should she need it. Her partner watched her, immediately sensing her apprehension.

"Don't worry," Mulder reminded her. "Police have been all over these parts the last couple of days. Even the drunk kids you spoke of won't come up here now."

"Well, that's reassuring…" Scully replied, exhaling once again.

 _Damn it Mulder_ , she thought, _he loved this._ It annoyed her, as it always did when he kept quiet about case details until they were already knee deep in mud and murder. The thought of that hot bath in her motel room seemed a million miles away.

Mulder on the other hand was anything but reluctant. And his partner was correct – _he did love this_. He had to remind himself to slow down the pace so that Scully could keep up with him, he too now struggling in the mud and the dark. Their torches only shone so far.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Scully replied. "Just great…"

He slowed down to a halt, turning to face her in the darkness. It was too bleak to make out her face, but from the tone of her voice he could tell she was pretty pissed off.

"We're not far," he assured her.

"Good because I can barely feel my fingers,"

He felt an instant pang of guilt and on impulse pulled her closer, gripping her hands in his. They were icy from the rain and the exposure, not that his own hands were any warmer.

"You _are_ cold."

"Didn't you believe me?"

"Of course I did," he said abruptly.

He squeezed her hands a little tighter between his, the torch he'd been holding now hung loosely around his wrist casting shadows around their feet.

"Still want to stay out here in the damn cold?" she asked him, looking up to his darkened face above hers.

"We've come this far," Mulder replied. "Might as well make all the trouble worth it."

Scully sighed inwardly, all thought of turning back seeming a distant memory. She felt him pull her by the hands a little closer, gently but intent.

"Mulder,"

He ignored her reluctance as he always did, and leaned down to kiss her, soft enough to barely graze her mouth.

"I hope you didn't bring me out here for this."

He felt her push him back slightly, enough that he could meet her eyes amongst the shadows.

"No, I didn't." he replied. "I was just being spontaneous."

He heard her sigh again in the darkness, the vapour from her mouth catching the light from their flickering torches.

"Ghostly."

"Come on Mulder," Scully said, removing her hands from his. "Let's get this over with."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

She followed him to the clearing, the light from the moon finally breaking through the imposing darkness of the tree cover. Mulder switched off his torch, gesturing to his partner to do the same. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. The rain poured through the gap in the trees harder than it had inside the shelter of the forest, which did little to comfort her as she stood hesitantly in the dark.

She felt Mulder move away from her towards the center of the clearing. He was careful not to slip on the mud, careful not to tread on any evidence either. As his eyes started to adjust to the darkness he caught glimpse of the charred earth, the shape of a perfect ring burned into the ground.

"This is the place."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

He briefly turned his torch on again, directing the beam of light around the forest floor. Vapour rose from the charred ground.

"Mulder it looks like someone's been here,"

He felt Scully step close to him.

"They must have literally been here within the hour," she spoke. "The ground is still smoking, it's burned,"

"Correct."

"And the rain… it's been raining for hours-"

"Then they can't be far." Mulder replied, quieter this time. "If a person was here at all..."

Scully paused hesitantly.

"What?"

He looked up to meet her stare.

"You know what."

" _No, Mulder_. I don't."

"Local legend, remember Scully?" Mulder reminded her. "The devil himself."

Even in the darkness he could sense her rolling her eyes at him.

"I thought we were looking for "sacrificial witchcraft"."

"It's a possibility." He replied, scanning the area with the light of his torch.

 _No signs of anything from the occult…nothing hanging in the trees, nothing scattered on the ground. It looked bleak enough._ He'd watched The Blair Witch Project at some point in the distant past, which unfortunately was set in a forest much like the one he was in. It played on his subconscious, a pang of fear suggesting he should be careful not to trip over a bundle of chopped up body parts in the dark. At least, he thought, _it made him watch his step_. He wandered away from his partner, scanning the ground for any footprints or anything left behind by the culprit. Even an empty beer can or an empty packet of cigarettes could've been useful right now; their dna would be all over it.

Scully watched her partner momentarily, hoping he'd find something that would make this trip worthwhile and that she hadn't wasted another evening in the mud and the wet for nothing. At least, it wouldn't be the first time. She'd endured more than enough nights like this over her 5 years on the x files with Mulder. He had a way of seeking out cases that would take them out into the middle of nowhere, annoying the local police departments and Assistant Director Skinner equally.

She watched him wander close to the treeline that encircled them, her mind questioning if he was about to walk off and leave her there, and yet she couldn't help but find herself drawn to the strangely charred ground at her feet. It did look burned, and yet the ground still managed to steam despite the hours of rain that had fallen. She was certain there'd be some kind of scientific explanation for this, a geological phenomenon of some sort. Although, it did not explain the recent finding of deliberately burned bones from within the ring itself. _Devil or not, a person had been responsible for that_ , she knew for certain.

Careful not to slip on the wet ground, she crouched down at the side of the burned ring of earth. By the light of her torch she examined as best she could, certain from the very beginning she was unlikely to find anything in these conditions. The ash that would've remained after the fire had completely disintegrated into the rainwater. What ever exactly had been burned now lay in puddles around her feet.

Scully adjusted her position, attempting to get a better glance of the watery earth around her. It was proving difficult; the rain splashed hard on the already soaked earth distorting anything she tried to distinguish as something. The torch itself reflected its own harsh light off the puddles, darkening the pools of water into dreary endless black.

Hesitantly she reached out and touched the charred earth. A small part of her had questioned if it would still be warm, but it was not. She felt silly, but still convinced herself to feel along the watery earth for anything that could be lying in wait.

It was in that instant that she felt something grasp her neck.

"Find anything?"

She looked up at her partner who was now standing over her shoulder.

"Jesus Mulder you scared me."

"Sorry,"

He helped her up off the ground, careful that she didn't slip.

"So you didn't find anything?"

"No." she replied, holding onto his arm as she attempted to steady herself.

He watched her for a moment.

"Are you ok?"

Scully nodded, feeling uneasy.

"I'm fine, Mulder, you frightened me, that's all," she assured him, trying to ignore the nerves that plagued her.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

He held on to her, reassuringly.

"I can't see any evidence of occult activities, not at least around here," Mulder spoke. "There's some spray paint on some of the trees but nothing much else."

"Are you sure?"

"Certain." He confirmed. "Which makes this case more likely to be your typical murder…someone who is trying to cover up a body or two. Thought they could burn the evidence all the way out here."

" _Typical murder_?"

"It's looking that way." He added.

He paused for a moment as his partner nodded, rain dripping off the hood of her coat. In a moment of clarity he suddenly realised just how wet and cold he was. The adrenaline rush of the case had started to wear off.

"Motel?"

* * *

The pair drove the 20 minute journey separately, taking it slow along the near flooded roads. The rain continually poured. It was hardly the safest driving conditions but at least the roads were mostly empty this time of night.

From the start of the drive Mulder made an effort to put the heating on full blast, attempting to dry himself off from his trip out in the rain. For the first time that evening the thought of going to the motel seemed pleasant indeed. His partner lingered on his mind; it had been a while since he'd been alone with her. Bureau policy had a lot to answer to.

Nonetheless he was relieved to finally get to the motel in one piece and parked up in the car park, his partner pulling up next to him. It didn't look too bad a place to stay; even at this late an hour it was fairly well lit and welcoming.

He was the first to get out of his car, immediately beginning to get soaked in rain again, followed by his partner from her own car. He retrieved his overnight bag from the backseat quickly so that he didn't have to stand in the rain a moment longer. The coat he had worn in the forest was beginning to let water through the material.

Once he'd locked the car he approached Scully, who stood beside her car clutching her neck.

"What's the matter?"

"My necklace is gone."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

It wasn't unusual for Mulder to be awake this late. He struggled to sleep, despite a day of driving and an evening of trekking out in the rain. The bed was perfectly comfortable, as was the shower he'd had earlier. _There was nothing wrong with the room_ , he thought, he just had trouble switching off.

The TV was still on – not that there was much to watch. In the end he'd resorted to reading over the case file. He knew that in the morning he'd have to get in touch with the police department, whether or not he'd had any sleep. He was almost certain that they were dealing with a murder, rather than anything of the occult. As soon as they'd analysed the dna of the bone fragments and determined exactly who they belonged to, he would be able to put together a profile of the killer. But until then, he could only speculate.

There was a knock at the door: a quiet, uncertain one.

"It's open." Mulder called out.

He'd deliberately left the door unlocked for her.

"Hey."

He watched her silhouette appear in the doorway, the hazy light from the TV catching the glint in her eyes.

"Bit late for room service..."

Scully ignored his remark and shut the door behind her, quietly.

"I fell asleep."

"At least one of us did." He spoke, sitting up in bed.

"Restless tonight are we?"

She watched him smile.

"That's one way to put it."

She stood by the door awkwardly, as if she was somehow waiting to be invited into the room. She brushed her hair out of her face apprehensively to pass the moment, a sort of nervous twitch when she felt his eyes on her. Mulder remembered, _they were not so good at this part_.

"Drink?"

"Yeah," Scully replied, suddenly exhaling as he broke the tension. "Thank you."

She waited until he got up from the bed until she found the nerve to step forward from the doorway. The room was lit only by the TV which played quietly, a combination of darkened settings and background noise to paste over the clumsiness of their engagement. She found these things reassuring.

As he poured her something from the mini bar, she slipped off the coat and shoes she'd worn over her pyjamas on her walk to his room.

"How long were you asleep?" Mulder suddenly spoke up, handing her a glass.

"Long enough," Scully replied. "I'm not sure I could go back to sleep so easily now."

"Well that makes things easier," he said. "I could use the company."

He sat back down on the bed, Scully following closely. She found herself avoiding his stare and drinking out of hesitation. Mulder felt that his staring made her uncomfortable, which of course, added to the unease of their situation. It had been some time since their last late night encounter in a motel room, _several_ _months ago perhaps_ , he was sure of it, _or at least it had felt like that…_ He hoped that she still wanted this, _whatever this exactly was_ , this slightly strange arrangement that had come to be between them.

He questioned whether she too was overthinking the situation as they sat in near silence on the end of the bed. He waited until she finished her drink - which he noticed did not take her very long at all - before he chose the moment to finally try and start a conversation.

"Thirsty?"

"Something like that," she replied.

 _Thank fuck for vodka_ , she thought, biting her lower lip out of nerves.

"I'm sorry about your necklace, Scully."

"It's fine," she said, turning to meet his eyes.

"I know it means a lot to you,"

"I must've dropped it earlier in the forest."

"We'll go back and look for it tomorrow." He assured her. " _I'm sure it'll rain_."

She smiled nervously.

"Thank you, Mulder."

Again neither spoke, but at least this time the tension had started to fade. He'd finally caught her stare, her face just inches from his own. He leaned in to kiss her.

Despite all prior apprehension she found this part came easy, when _he just got on with it and kissed her and forgot about all the damn small talk that made this so hard._

Almost as soon as he had started the kiss, he pulled away from her momentarily, removing the glass from her hand and placing it elsewhere. Scully had almost forgotten she was still holding on to it.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"I'm fine."

It was enough reassurance for him despite the quiet between them. He pulled her close again, this time more forcefully. His hands gripped her tightly as he kissed her, a sort of subconscious worry that she might push him away manifesting itself. He could taste the alcohol on her lips, a subtle reminder that she was nervous. It took all of his mental strength to push his inner dialogue to one side, anything that would distract him from this moment and ruin it. He pushed her backwards onto the bed with a little more force than he had anticipated, feeling her writhe under him.

Scully stared up at him, her partner, who had paused to stare back at her.

"Don't stop," she whispered, nervous at the sound of her own voice and what she was saying.

He kissed down her neck, feeling her tense under his control. He knew it would be a struggle to keep this at a slow pace; it would take all of his willpower to savour every moment and not rush to the end. _It had been a long time since the last time_ , he wasn't so sure he would last long once he'd started.

He reached up to meet her mouth, kissing her forcefully and gently all at once.

"I've missed you," Mulder spoke suddenly.

She simply stared back at him, caught off guard in the heat of the moment. It terrified her to think that she was falling for him, completely and utterly in a way she had always denied. She found herself avoiding the situation by kissing him, rushing him along by unbuttoning her pyjama top, anything to forget what he had just said.

Mulder took her by the wrists, attempting to slow her down, and pushed them back against the covers of the bed. From previous encounters with her he knew she took great pleasure in being led, and overcome. He only hoped he would be enough for her and live up to her expectations. He kissed her repeatedly, letting go of her wrists momentarily to touch her, the pyjama top she wore unbuttoned half way.

He enjoyed the sound of her gasp under his touch, willing him further and further…

Suddenly, and with shrill annoyance, the sound of his cell phone filled the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

"Fuck…"

Mulder pulled away from his partner beneath him, his eyes drawn to the caller ID, and then to the alarm clock on the side table – 1:23am staring back at him. The phone continued to ring out.

Scully shifted beneath him, turning her own eyes towards the direction of the ringing. She watched her partner roll his eyes in annoyance.

" _Now?_ …" he mumbled to himself as he reached over to the side table.

He reluctantly answered.

" _Good Morning_."

"Agent Mulder?"

"Speaking."

"This is Deputy Avery, I'm sorry to call you at such an hour,"

"It's fine." Mulder replied, biting his lip.

"We've found 2 bodies, is there any chance you can come take a look?"

"Right now?"

There was a momentary pause on the other end, a slightly overtired, exasperated one.

"I'm downstairs."

Mulder sighed.

"Ok, I'll be right down."

He hung up the phone, irately.

"Mulder?"

"Get dressed."

"Why?"

"We've got work to do."

She cursed under her breath.

"Are you for real…"

She felt him pull back from their entangled situation on the bed, annoyed. He watched her own equal look of irritation stare back at him.

"I'm sorry," He spoke, sitting up. "This won't take long,"

" _Won't take long_ …" Scully muttered, exhaling furiously.

She pulled herself up against the pillows, the room shifting slightly in her vision from the drink earlier. _Tonight would surely be a new low_ , she thought, _a slightly overbearing drunken low_ …

"I hope you're not expecting me to drive." She stated, buttoning up her pyjama top.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Mulder replied.

He watched her momentarily as she fixed her state of undress, before catching her own eyes watching him back. Attempting to swallow all feeling left over from their encounter he turned his stare away and got up from the bed.

"I'll see you downstairs in 10 minutes."

* * *

He waited in the carpark for them, not willing to create too much of a scene by waiting inside the motel itself. A cop hanging about this time of the night would only draw attention, and the Deputy was certainly not in the mood.

He watched a woman leave the motel, her appearance mostly shrouded in darkness, but he was already certain of her identity. They made eye contact and with a nod she approached the police car.

"Deputy Avery?" the female agent asked as she opened the door to the passenger's side.

"Yes, I'm sorry to call so late,"

"Its fine," the female agent replied, exhaling slightly. "I wasn't asleep."

"I take it you're Dana," Deputy Avery said, gesturing her in to the car.

"Yes," she said hesitantly, shutting the door. "Did Mulder tell you that?"

"No."

The sound of a tap on the glass window resounded behind her.

"Speak of the devil."

Mulder let himself in to the car, the Deputy's hand extended across to him.

"We spoke on the phone."

"Yeah, we did," Mulder said, shaking his hand.

He pulled the door shut abruptly with one hand, the other holding on to the case file. Scully noticed his eyes avert her.

"So, we need to go over to the police station," the Deputy spoke, turning slightly in the driver's seat to face the male agent behind him. "Got a body on its way over to the morgue."

"Did you ID the bodies?" Scully asked.

"Not yet. We've taken a dna sample from both." He replied. "2 females, Caucasian, likely early 20s, no idea what they were doing out in the woods given the circumstances…"

" _The woods_."

The Deputy nodded blankly. He watched the female agent turn to her partner, a certain look in her eyes that spoke before she did.

"What is it?" he asked, looking to the man sitting in the backseat.

"Agent Scully and I drove up there earlier tonight," Mulder explained calmly. "There was nothing, or rather, _nobody_ up there that we knew of to say the least…"

The Deputy paused hesitantly.

"What was their condition?"

"Strung up in the trees."

He watched once more as the female agent looked to her partner. He looked closer at her this time, noting to himself that despite a full face of recently-applied makeup her hair was a little dishevelled. Not terribly so, but enough that he noticed this little imperfection and questioned it, until of course he began to feel the presence of another pair of eyes watching him closely from the backseat. He turned in the direction of Agent Mulder.

"Possible cause of death?"

"Strangulation." The Deputy replied. "Some burns."

"Chemical burns?" Scully asked.

"It's hard to tell at this point, but we can find out," the Deputy said, turning to face her. "I understand that you're a medical doctor,"

"Something like that."

The Deputy smiled despite the severity of the case, starting up the car engine. He noticed the tiredness in her voice.

"This won't take long," he assured them both, his eyes remaining focused on the woman next to him. "I'm sure you're pretty eager to get some sleep after the drive up here,"

Scully smiled back uncomfortably, wondering how many times she'd hear those words tonight. As the car pulled out of the carpark she momentarily caught a glimpse of her partner in the dashboard mirror, hoping to meet his stare and attain some sort of reassurance from him…instead his eyes were elsewhere, staring intently at the Deputy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

She was prepped and ready to go despite the clock on the wall telling her otherwise. To say that Scully was in any state to check two dead bodies would be an out-and-out lie, but of course, her partner had asked her to.

The man in question stood opposite the first body, alongside the Deputy, waiting and watching as she examined and scrutinized detail. Usually this was fine, but tonight she felt uneasy. _Perhaps it was the alcohol_ , Scully told herself, _she didn't usually get up and examine a dead body after downing vodka_.

"Unidentified Caucasian female," she began. "Possibly 20-25 years old."

She gently prized open the cold dead eyelids of the body, bloodshot and haemorrhaged.

"Possible strangulation."

Perhaps in her exhaustion and slightly inebriated condition she began to wonder what kind of alien encounter or occult sacrifice Mulder would try and label this one. She was certainly in no mood to argue a more rational explanation.

Nonetheless she followed the pattern of burns along the neck and chest of the first body, blackened and tainted – the eyes of the men following her own.

"Fire burns," Scully spoke after several moments. "Not chemical."

The Deputy took a step closer to the body in observation.

"Are you sure?"

"A chemical burn wouldn't blacken the skin to this extent," she continued, indicating for the Deputy. "I can take a swab of the area but I'd be very surprised if anything came back on the results."

This time the Deputy nodded.

"And the cause of death?" he asked, looking up from the body at her.

Scully hesitated.

"You don't think they burned alive?" Mulder spoke up suddenly.

"I can't be sure," Scully replied hesitantly. "There's too much bruising around the face and neck – the eyes show signs of haemorrhaging, it's possible they were killed prior to being burned."

"To burn evidence?" he continued.

Scully nodded.

"They definitely tried."

She felt Mulder's stare on her, intensifying as she continued to study the body.

"We'd better get a swab under the fingernails for dna," she suggested, indicating once more to the Deputy.

"I'll run it through the database." He replied with a nod.

She smiled politely in return, catching her partner's eyes for just a moment before he turned away to discuss with the Deputy. Their conversation faded into the background of her mind as she performed the swab, bagging it up and labelling it for evidence. _She was definitely going to need a coffee upon return to the motel, that was for sure_ , she thought to herself. At least the room had stopped spinning.

"Dana?"

Scully looked up from the evidence bag, alarmed to hear her first name.

"Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" the Deputy asked, oblivious.

She felt her heart jolt briefly in her chest, caught off guard.

Her partner watched him closely.

"I'd be grateful if you could do the autopsy," he continued. "If you're available."

Scully paused, seeking out her partner's stare for some sort of approval. Unfortunately it remained fixed elsewhere, attached and intent on the man at his side.

"Sure." She replied, bluntly. "Anything I can do to help."

"Thank you," he replied, nodding graciously. "I'll pick you up from the motel at 2."

Scully smiled awkwardly and politely, ignoring his choice of words and obvious exclusion of her partner by thrusting the evidence bag at the Deputy. He accepted it and thanked her again. It was an encounter awkward enough to make the dead body squirm with shame, and yet the third living being in the room barely reacted.

Mulder said nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

It was fast approaching 4am by the time they arrived back at the motel. Their return couldn't have come at a better time as Scully began to drift off, her head rolling forward everytime she lost the struggle to stay awake. She felt herself gently tapped on the shoulder by her partner in the back seat who as usual was wide awake. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust - the parking lot was dark besides the dimly lit, unwelcoming entrance sign to the building itself. _At least it had stopped raining._

Having thanked the agents for their time, the Deputy waited until both had made it inside before driving away, just to make sure. He knew that the motel was open 24 hours – he'd stayed here several times himself – but he felt that he had to live up to a duty of care when a murderer appeared to be on the loose in the area. As he watched the agents walk to the entrance he wondered if Agent Mulder had the same idea as he purposefully placed an arm around the waist of his female partner.

* * *

Mulder opened the front door to the motel reception, holding it open for his partner. She appeared to have suffered the most from their late night trip out - her eyes were bloodshot after being roused from sleep just moments before. As he shut the door behind her his eye briefly caught sight of the Deputy's car pulling away from the carpark, disappearing into the night. His arm remained around Scully's waist.

"Fuck I'm exhausted,"

The sound of her abrupt voice and choice of expletive stole his attention away from the world outside. She had barely said two words to him on the journey back. It was of no surprise to him, and yet the drive back in the Deputy's car had been uncomfortably silent to say the least.

He pulled her a little closer, perhaps as a response to his wandering mind and the jealous thoughts that plagued him.

"There's no rush to be up early in the morning," Mulder spoke quietly, facing her in the dim lighting of the reception area. "Not if he wants you for noon,"

Scully paused, hesitantly. She looked up to meet his eyes.

"Mulder I'm sorry,"

He paused momentarily, terrified she had read him like a book.

"For what?"

Again she hesitated, uncomfortable and despising of the unspoken rift that had formed in the time between leaving and returning from the investigation.

"The Deputy."

"Its fine," he assured her. "I can take the morning off."

"Mulder-,"

"There's nothing to stop me doing an investigation of my own," Mulder continued, feeling her slip from his grip to face him.

He watched her smile half-heartedly, basking in the awkwardness that had come between them.

"And besides, Scully, we can sleep til noon."

Scully sighed, nodding in agreement whilst her knees weakened at the thought of sleep. She felt him squeeze her arm gently.

"I'll see you in the morning."

She felt his touch leave her, cold and abrupt as he turned away to return to his own room.

"Mulder?"

He paused and turned to face her, retrieving the room keys from his coat pocket as he did so. It took her several moments to gather the right momentum to speak, intimidated by the lack of expression in his eyes. She assumed he was as exhausted as she was. It was easier to kid herself than to remember he was an insomniac.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Scully finally spoke.

She felt his eyes study her for a moment, tense and questioning. Despite the early hours they were suddenly disrupted by several members of staff arriving through the front door, presumably cleaners at the start of their shift. Both agents moved aside from the doorway to let them through, receiving a few suspicious looks.

"Ask you what?"

Scully closed her mouth, refusing to speak over the staff who pushed past them, noisy and disrupting at such an ungodly hour. She ignored their stares and instead took the opportunity to retrieve her own keys.

"Goodnight, Mulder." She concluded abruptly, leaving her partner standing alone in the reception.

* * *

It was at times like these that Fox Mulder despised his insomnia.

He had rolled over and over in bed to the extent he had become entangled in the bedsheets and dizzied with his own restlessness. In the end he gave up, flicked on the bedside lamp and read over the casefile for the umpteenth time. Regardless of his apparent unspoken exclusion from the case, he was defiant to continue the work. He'd continue the investigation alone if he had to. In his overtired mind he made plans to use tomorrow as an opportunity to go back to the forest and continue what he had started – with or without the Deputy. He hoped Scully would be able to make it. Or at least, if she was unable to go he would do his best to find and return the necklace she had lost in the rain. He had no idea how he'd find it – the mud and the rain made sure of that.

For now it was the least of his problems and Scully had a certain habit of keeping him wide awake.

The thought of her once again pulled him from the throws of distorted sleep. It had appeared that for several minutes he had drifted off, the casefile resting on the bed next to him. In his frustration he kicked the duvet off the bed and onto the floor, sighing with despair. The papers he had been reading inevitably fluttered off with the duvet in a heap.

Like the floor he was a mess, he thought to himself, _physically and emotionally_. _Pandemonium. A basket case._ He had his reasons. At times he was better at holding it all together, pursuing the truth, taking one step forward and yet taking two steps backwards everytime. No closer to finding his sister, his original cause...but of course his journey had taken on an accomplice whom he was terrified of losing. He had come close numerous times.

Mulder believed it was remarkable that Scully had ever given him a chance, despite all that had happened over the few years he had known her. He dared not call it a _relationship_ as such for fear it would end as quickly as it had started. Either way, it was the wrong description for their occasional 'engagements'. They lacked timing and consistency. _They lacked a lot of things_ … He didn't know what to call it and he had long since stopped trying.

But still, Mulder kicked himself for answering the _damn_ phone to Deputy Avery just hours before. _He'd been an idiot,_ amongst many other curses _.._. his pursuit of the case had stolen away yet another chance to be with her: an opportunity that was increasingly few and far between. Work was a problem, for both him and Scully. He wondered how many days, weeks or months he would have to wait to be alone with her again on a case, out of the prying eyes of the Bureau.

Mulder's mind raced continually into the early hours of the morning until he felt the cold light of dawn skim over his skin. He couldn't lie in this bed a moment longer.

* * *

Several doors down from the male FBI agent, his partner had somehow managed to get a few good hours of sleep. Scully was a light sleeper but in her exhaustion she slept deeper than usual. The bed was warm and comfortable. In the morning she planned to spend an hour in the bath, wash her hair and just relax. Afterwards she might go and get herself some breakfast somewhere.

But of course when a quiet tapping came upon her door at 7am, her plans all but dissolved along with any sleep.

Scully questioned the hour – _he must've not slept at all_ , she thought to herself as she sat up anxiously in the bed.

She wrapped her dressing gown around her frame, just in case it was someone else – _perhaps the Deputy_ , she thought uncomfortably, _what the hell?_

The knock however did not come twice, and in the time it took her to clamber out of the warmth of her bed she wondered if he had given up and gone back to his room.

"Mulder,"

"Did I wake you?"

Scully sighed, letting him slip through the small gap she held open in the doorway.

"Please don't tell me you need me to get dressed," Scully murmured quietly to herself, hesitantly shutting the door. "…Or go trekking through that _damn forest_."

She was surprised when he failed to answer her and instead backed her against the door, his lips brushing against hers with an enticing force she crumbled beneath. It was brief and yet she forgot to breathe, caught off guard and captivated by the moment.

"Is this what you wanted?" he suddenly spoke, breaking away from her mouth.

Scully paused beneath his grip, firmly holding her in place against the door. His abrupt behaviour and her tiredness combined only confused her further, until she remembered how she had left him standing in the reception at 4am.

"Possibly," she replied in a mere whisper, "But I had intended to get some sleep first,"

He stood before her, his eyes burning holes into her gaze. She questioned if he had been drinking, but quickly decided against it.

"Would you like me to go?" Mulder spoke, interrupting her train of thought.

"No."


End file.
